Chapter 4: The Man Calling My Wife
Daniel Reed.
His name glowed on Nia's phone while the three of us stood frozen in the living room.
I stared at the screen, then at my wife.
“Answer it.””
Nia tightened her grip around the phone.
“Marcus, please.””
“Answer the phone.””
“You don't understand what this is.””
“Then help me understand.””
The phone stopped ringing.
For a brief moment, relief crossed her face. Then the screen lit up again.
Daniel Reed was calling a second time.
My father moved toward the coffee table, but I raised a hand.
“Don't. Nobody touches anything until I understand what's happening.””
Arthur stopped.
Nia looked between us. Her breathing grew shallow, and her fingers trembled around the device.
I had seen her frightened before. When her mother was hospitalized, she'd sat beside me in a hospital corridor with her hands folded tightly in her lap. When we almost lost our apartment during my first year at a new job, she'd stayed awake beside me until we found a solution.
This fear was different.
It wasn't fear of losing something.
It was fear of being discovered.
“Who is Daniel Reed?”” I asked.
She swallowed.
“Someone my mother knew.””
“That photograph shows him standing beside my mother on my birthday.””
“I know.””
“You know?””
Her eyes closed.
I took a step backward, struggling to contain the anger building in my chest.
“How long have you known about him?””
“Since before your mother-in-law died,” Arthur answered.
I turned sharply.
“You knew his name?””
“Yes.””
“And you never told me?””
“Your mother asked me not to.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Everybody seems to have a convenient reason for keeping secrets from me.””
Arthur accepted the accusation without defending himself.
“I should have found a way to tell you the truth without betraying your mother's confidence. I failed you in that regard.””
I wasn't prepared for his honesty.
I wanted him to deny everything. I wanted someone to tell me that the last hour had been a misunderstanding and that I could return to the life I knew before walking through my front door.
Instead, the phone continued ringing.
I pointed at Nia.
“Answer it. Put it on speaker.””
She hesitated.
“Marcus—”
“Now.””
She accepted the call.
“Hello?””
A man's voice came through the speaker, deep and controlled.
“Nia, where are you?””
“At home.””
“Is Arthur there?””
My father stiffened.
Nia glanced at him.
“Yes.””
There was a pause.
“Then Marcus knows.””
The words struck me harder than I'd expected.
“Who is this?”” I demanded.
The man fell silent.
I stepped closer to the phone.
“My name is Marcus Williams. Why are you calling my wife?””
Another pause followed.
Then the man said, “Because your wife has something that belongs to me.””
I felt the blood drain from my face.
“What does she have?””
“An envelope. A letter from Evelyn. And, if Arthur has finally done what he should have done years ago, a photograph.””
I looked at the picture on the coffee table.
“How do you know about the photograph?””
“Because I gave it to Denise.””
My mother.
I gripped the edge of the table.
“Are you my biological father?””
Silence.
I heard a slow breath on the other end.
“Yes.””
The word was quiet, but it changed the shape of my world.
Nia began crying.
Arthur sat down heavily.
I remained standing, unable to move.
For twenty-nine years, I had believed I knew who I was. I was Arthur Williams's son. I carried his surname, his habits, his stubbornness, and his belief that a man should take responsibility for his family.
Now a stranger on my wife's phone was telling me that the story of my birth had been built around an omission.
“Why are you calling Nia?”” I asked.
“Because she contacted me.””
I turned toward my wife.
“You contacted him?””
She shook her head.
“I can explain.””
Daniel continued speaking.
“She contacted me six months ago, after Evelyn died. She said she'd found documents that might prove what happened to Denise.””
My stomach tightened.
“What happened to my mother?””
“I don't know everything.””
“Then what do you know?””
“I know Denise was investigating financial fraud shortly before she died. I know she believed someone close to her had used her identity. And I know she was afraid that if anything happened to her, you'd grow up without knowing who your father was.””
I stared at Arthur.
He lowered his eyes.
“You said the police found no evidence of foul play,” I told him.
“That was what they told me.””
“Did you know Mom was investigating fraud?””
“Yes.””
“Did you know Daniel was my father?””
Arthur nodded slowly.
“I learned the truth after your mother died.””
My chest ached.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I had already lost your mother. I couldn't bear the thought of losing you too.””
I turned back to the phone.
“Daniel, where have you been all these years?””
“Looking for you.””
“That's convenient.””
“I know how that sounds.””
“You missed my childhood. You missed my graduation, my first job, my wedding. You weren't there when my mother died. You weren't there when I needed a father.””
“I know.””
“No, you don't!””
My voice cracked, and I hated that it did.
“You don't get to call my wife and tell me you're my father as though that makes us family.””
“I don't expect you to accept me tonight.””
“Good.””
“But I need you to understand something. Evelyn's letter wasn't only about your inheritance. It was about what happened to your mother and why someone has spent years trying to keep the truth buried.””
I looked at the papers.
“What does the money have to do with my mother?””
“Evelyn discovered that some of the funds intended for the community program had been diverted. She traced the missing money to an account connected to the company that handled your mother's financial records.””
“Carter Legacy Consulting?””
A pause.
“That's the name Nia gave me.””
I turned toward my wife.
She looked devastated.
“You knew the company was connected to the fraud?””
“No,” she whispered.
“Not when I created it.””
Daniel continued.
“Marcus, I need you to look at the bank statements. Check the dates. Check who authorized the original transfers and who received the money afterward.””
“Why should I trust you?””
“You shouldn't trust me because I say so. Verify everything.””
For the first time, he sounded less like a stranger claiming a place in my life and more like a man who understood he had no right to demand one.
“Where can I meet you?”” I asked.
“Tomorrow morning. Nine o'clock. The public library downtown.””
“No.””
“Marcus—”
“If you have evidence, send it to an attorney. I'm not meeting you alone.””
“That's fair.””
“And you don't contact my wife again without telling me.””
Nia looked up sharply.
Daniel paused.
“I can't agree to that.””
My jaw tightened.
“Then we're done.””
“I won't contact her privately,” he amended.
“But if she's involved in the investigation, I won't pretend she isn't.””
I looked at Nia.
“What investigation?””
She said nothing.
Daniel answered.
“The missing money. The false documents. The transfers made after Evelyn's death. Your wife may know more than she's telling you.””
Nia covered her mouth.
I ended the call.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then I turned toward my wife.
“How long have you been communicating with him?””
“Six months.””
“Did you know he was my biological father?””
“Yes.””
The answer landed between us.
I felt as though the air had been pulled from the room.
“You knew who he was, and you married me without telling me?””
“I didn't know how to tell you.””
“You could have started with his name!””
“I was afraid you'd leave me.””
I stared at her.
“So you kept the truth from me because you thought I'd leave, and then you used my father to make me believe he'd attacked you.””
Her tears fell freely now.
“I never wanted you to hit him.””
“But you wanted me to believe him capable of something terrible.””
She had no answer.
I picked up the papers and placed them inside the envelope.
“Tomorrow, we're going to find out what happened to my mother, where our money went, and why your company is connected to this mess.””
Nia reached for my hand.
I stepped away.
Her expression crumpled.
“Marcus, please don't shut me out.””
I looked at the woman I had married.
“I didn't shut you out, Nia. You locked the door from the inside.””
I took the envelope and walked toward the hallway.
Behind me, my father spoke softly.
“Son?””
I stopped.
“I know I don't deserve your forgiveness tonight. But whatever you discover about your birth, don't confuse the man who raised you with the man who abandoned you.””
I turned toward him.
For the first time, I couldn't tell whether he was warning me about Daniel Reed or begging me not to abandon him.
I went upstairs without answering.
At two in the morning, I returned to the living room for water.
Nia was asleep on the sofa, curled beneath a blanket. My father had gone home after apologizing once more for keeping the secret.
The house was silent.
I opened the envelope and examined the financial statements under the kitchen light.
One transaction caught my attention.
A transfer of $125,000 had been made from the community trust into an account associated with Carter Legacy Consulting.
The authorization carried two signatures.
Evelyn Carter.
And Arthur Williams.
I stared at the second signature.
My father had told me he never authorized money to be moved into Nia's company.
Yet there was his name.
Beneath the signature was a date.
Three weeks before my mother's fatal accident.
I heard a floorboard creak behind me.
Nia stood in the doorway, her face pale.
“You weren't supposed to find that,” she whispered.
I slowly lifted my eyes.
“What else have you been hiding?””
She looked at the document, then at me.
May you like
And finally, she said the words I had been dreading.
“Your father didn't steal that money, Marcus. He was trying to find out who did.””
